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Shen Jiu fanned herself as she waited for her usual Jiejie to accompany her.
One of the girls, Ruan-jie, ran to tell her she wouldn't be available for the night — just like all the rest of them. Well, with the exception of one.
She didn't know her, the woman was fairly 'new' in the work yet she grew so popular it completely override her status as a newbie. All that Shen Jiu knew was that they looked about the same except for the doe eyes and her voluptuous pouty lips, an absolute men magnet when she used her meek yet seductive charm.
The woman was dubbed Yuan-mei, she danced over from man to man with a lilting smile and a coquettish wink until they were all incensed into having their own time with her — Shen Jiu disgusted these men, they veered their eyes to prostitutes and defiled them then promptly bemoan their low rising after sluicing their dignity and taking their own fill. Such filth and dregs slobbered over her. Shen Jiu could only light a candle in her heart for the girl to not get eaten by those hungry wolves.
Shen Jiu sighed, giving out her acquiescence for Yuan-mei to take over for tonight. She sat on the mattress, waiting for the courtesan to come — Ruan-jie went to fetch Yuan-mei and left Shen Jiu in the quietude of the room — the woman took off her headset and set it on the drawer, she shed her outer robes, readying herself to bed.
The door shyly drew open, the ajar opening welcomed a face peeking at her — ah, Yuan-mei. “You may enter.” Shen Jiu permitted, her back straight as she watched Yuan-mei slinker in the room without the grace she usually had while elegantly dancing with her flowy robes and fan, the woman bowed to her with a slight flush to her face
“Hello.. This one is Yuan-mei...” she awkwardly greeted — none of the charm she usually exhibited translated into her speech or body language, she moved stiffly and her tone was a touch anxious.
Shen Jiu nodded, she too didn't know how to interact with her either, “ Yuan-mei must've already known she'd accompany me?”
Yuan-mei nodded, “Ye.. yes. The other Jiejies already informed this one your esteemed self would need me for the night.”
“Yes, indeed. This master would like to relax, she trusts you know what to do.” Shen Jiu laid down on the bed, settling her head on the pillow, “You may play.”
“Wha- oh! Yes.. This one shall play the erhu for the prestigious peak lord!” Yuan-mei looked flustered as she held her instrument, she took a deep breath before she started to bow the strings of the erhu — eliciting a beautiful lullaby, assuaging her into a stagnant calm; Shen Jiu could feel herself slowly drift into sleep as the woman continued to lull her with her melodies and music.
Soon, the soothing notes overcame the fibers of consciousness she held on and Shen Jiu fell asleep.
Shen Yuan continued on playing the erhu, until she realized the scum villainess finally slept — oh goodness gracious, she thought the woman was coming onto her with that one comment! Well, it was her job but she didn't think the woman would be a lesbian, she had something going on with the sect leader — some hetero enemies to lovers arc that hadn't paid off!
The woman sighed, she set her erhu on the floor, sitting on the ground like a waiting duck unsure whether to leave or stay the night with Shen Qingqiu. “You surely know how to make a woman nervous…” Shen Yuan lamented, she should leave the peak lord to sleep. Today was meant to be her rest day, while playing the erhu was hardly a problem — she still technically worked!
Shen Yuan was about to stand to leave before the peak lord started thrashing around in bed.
That was sudden! She quickly went to Shen Qingqiu’s bedside, her hands hoovered indecisively around her — should Shen Yuan wake her from her nightmares? She doubted Shen Qingqiu would take it well if Shen Yuan ever dared to touch her! She was the scum villainess afterall. What do people usually do? Shen Yuan quietly called for the peak lord, “Shen Qingqiu…. Shen Qingqiu…”
She continued on repeating her name, the peak lord stayed in the throes of their nightmares even when Shen Yuan tried to calmly wake her up.
That option was out of the window now… “People like lullabies, right? That could probably work..” Shen Yuan mused, biting her lips nervously before she took a deep breath to commence. Shen Yuan closed her eyes as she hummed a song from some forgotten media she once consumed — Shen Yuan envelopped her voice with a hint of qi, it interwoven with the sounds of her throat, she could feel it becoming more coherent and solid as she continued to strum them from her vocal cords.
She never tried something like this, she hoped it was pleasant enough to appease Shen Qingqiu from her inner demons — the woman looked uncomfortable in her own skin, her face contorting into furrowed eyebrows and clenched teeth. They stayed like this for quite a while, Shen Yuan sang until her voice went hoarse, her throat was seriously parched by how much she abused her vocal cords.
It would certainly put a strain on her tomorrow.. Shen Yuan opened her eyes, panting all the while. There was the scum villainess, sleeping like a baby on a bed in the brothel Shen Yuan worked in. The austere face she held on and the almost permanent wrinkle between her eyebrows completely ceased, she looked like the poster girl of a mattress commercial — Shen Yuan chuckled to herself, she didn't expect to enjoy the vulnerable side of the cold Qing Jing Peak lord, she looked quite… cute without her walls all guarded up.
Shen Yuan could feel herself relax, it was worth the destruction of her vocal cords if this was the reward. She needed to refresh herself after that singing session. The courtesan slowly walked out, she checked back again to see if Shen Qingqiu would stir — she let out a relieved sigh before she closed the door and went to get for herself some honey tea. Shen Yuan began to ruminate on her way to the kitchen — she truly misjudged the scum villainess, It seemed like a crazy nightmare, it would certainly be a pain to deal with if she was all alone in her peak.. Shen Yuan sympathized with the peak lord, she must be really lonely there.
The women all spoke of her fondly, they were truly taken in by her — Shen Yuan thought it was all an act at first, it was their business afterall… but seeing how the others were going out of their way to call upon her to accompany Shen Qingqiu instead of telling her everyone was occupied, it really made her think there was a true reason for their fondness.
She got to the kitchen while her brain was stuck thinking of the peak lord, a childish voice broke her out of her reveries, “Yuan-jie!”
“Oh! Hello there my Xiao Bao!” She greeted the little boy, Shen Yuan crouched to his level and opened her arms, “Did you get some food in your tummy while your Jiejies were working?”
The little boy was the son of Ruan-jie, the madam reluctantly agreed for her to keep the child after so much dissents from the other courtesans; herself included. The woman thought she'd finally be able to escape the brothel with a wealthy man — that was until said wealthy man died and left her bearing the child, she wanted to keep his memories and likeness in their child so she decided against any abortifacient.
Shen Yuan shed tears at her Ruan-jie’s resolve, Xiao Bao was the nickname they all gave to Kang Yunrun — his chubby cheeks were perfect for kissing; when he was way tinier than this, he used to smack them away before they gave him anymore kisses.
She reminisced about those days, now he was a little above a toddler — of course, he was still their Xiao Bao with his baby cheeks, she sneakily pecked his cheek only to be given a disgruntled look from the little boy, “Yuan-jie..” Yunrun rubbed his cheek off her lipstick mark with a pout, Shen Yuan giggled, “This jiejie can't help it, Xiao Bao is just so cute! Say, can you help me find some honey? Your Yuan-jie really needs it, you like honey in tea, right?"
The little boy nodded eagerly, “Will Yuan-jie give me some?"
“Of course! But three cups is the limit, your A-niang wouldn't want you wet the bed~!” Shen Yuan teased him, locking his nose in between her fingers and tweaking it playfully. Yunrun whined, “Mama said A-Yun is big! Wetting the bed is for babies, Jiejie!” Shen Yuan chuckled, “Oh this Jiejie can't believe she forgot.. A-Yun is not a baby, only a big Xiao Bao~!”
“A-Yun is not Xiao Bao..” Yunrun pouted adorably, “A-Yun is A-Yun!”
“Of course, of course.. you're a human Xiao Bao, this Jiejie is truly careless with her words”
“Yuan-jie!”
The morning came, the sun shone its rays through the blinds — Shen Jiu woke up in the brothel room she privated for the last evening. The peak lord looked at the empty room before her and stretched to awaken the feel of her bones. She slept quite well, thanks to Yuan-mei. Shen Jiu could vaguely recall her singing her to sleep, or did she bow the erhu? The melody was of something divine — it captured her effortlessly into dormancy, a feat Shen Jiu couldn't achieve without the soft hands of her Jiejies carding her hair and slowly easing her back to comfort.
Yuan-mei only needed her voice to bring her into sweet reveries.
The door creaked, Shen Jiu whirled her head towards the intruder — ‘speak of Cáo Cāo and Cáo Cāo appears’ Shen Jiu mused as she watched Yuan-mei coming in with a tray of congee and a tea set. “oh! This one didn't think you'd be awake!” Yuan-mei gave her a smile, she crouched to set the tray on the table and dusted off her hanfu.
Shen Jiu greeted her back, “Greetings to Yuan-mei aswell — you shouldn't have pained yourself with the preparations.”
“Oh please! It's only just some congee and tea! This Yuan-mei couldn't let the big master go to her peak all hungry now, could she?” Yuan-mei chuckled, she made to get up and approached Shen Jiu., “Would you like this one to help? She would be delighted to serve her mistress!”
'Mistress?', Shen Jiu was quite bewildered at the address, she was way too familiar with the others that they couldn't bring themselves to play into such formalities with her
“Please only call this one Jiu-jie. Mistress sounds quite… provocative.”
Yuan-mei blinked at her, her innocent doe eyes shone bemusement before they widened in realization, her face was as red as her clothes while she stammered, “Oh- oh.. o-oh! This o-one is sorry for presuming! She d-didn't mean to be licentious!”
“Your intentions were clear. This one only remarked on the implication.”
Yuan-mei nodded stiffly, she helped Shen Jiu don her attire; pulling her sleeves up and knotting the layers upon layers of clothes.
Just as Shen Jiu were to hold the brush to do her own hair, the courtesan took it out of her hand with a swift swipe of her wrist,
“This Yuan-mei has promised to serve you. She'd gladly tame your hair until it's pin straight!”
Shen Jiu could feel her own face growing redder, she didn't expect the courtesan to be so friendly — considering she only but side-eyed her along the way whenever she visited
The woman certainly didn't complain as she sat obediently on the mattress and averted her burning cheeks away from the courtesan’s kind eyes.
She was truly no better than a man, Yuan-mei’s charms were working on her all the same.
“I really like the oil you use Jiu-jie! Will you tell me the thing you use for it?” Yuan-mei exclaimed, she audibly sniffed the strand of her hair, “it smells like jasmine, I love its smell!”
Shen Jiu blue screened, did the woman just sniff her hair? Do normal female companions do that? She never had a girl friend besides Huitang, but she hardly counted when all she wanted was to play with dolls and do her hair!
It also didn't escape past her how… informal the way Shen Yuan spoke, was it some dialect? Shen Jiu recognised that manner of speaking, she knew that she heard of it from someone else in the sect. the next time when she was within earshot, she'd make sure to torture out the name of the area they've came from — only for research purposes, of course.
Shen Jiu began to listen more intently to Yuan-mei’s speech to understand. The doe-eyed woman continued to ramble, “it's really not good to put it on yourself when it's cold.. Well, you're already an established very very skilled and beautiful cultivator with lots of immunities so I guess this doesn't apply to you anymore! I used to get sick because I would go out the cold with tons of hot oil and they would make me more prone to sickness, I was quite the sickly girl!”
Shen Jiu hummed, “Was Yuan-mei an unruly child?”
Yuan-mei giggled, Shen Jiu could feel herself turn into putty at the cute titter — why was she so malleable when it came to the courtesan behind her? Her austere standing walls shouldn't be crumpled by a tee-hee and a cute girl.
“You bet I was! If you saw how much I liked to sneak away from the house to play in the snow or dance in the downpour, you wouldn't be able to think I was the same child back then..”
The woman carded through her hair absentmindedly, the air fell into a comfortable silence with the only sound being the brush taming Shen Jiu’s hair
Yuan-mei requested the headpiece from the peak lord's hand, Shen Jiu gave it to her without so much as a thought left in her brain. Yuan-mei held her hair into a crown before setting the head piece to secure it with the jade elongated hairpin, she fixed the green decorative ribbon from its tangled mess and let it artfully dangle from the peak lord’s hair. “I'm done!” Yuan-mei announced, she got up from her seat to look at her handiwork, “This is the first time I set a headpieces, beginner’s trial you know?”
The entire time Shen Jiu was rethinking the choices that led her through this situation, since when did she give her headpiece to Yuan-mei? She could've sworn it was in her hands, she’d have realized if Yuan-mei were to caress her hand in hopes of taking it — Shen Jiu gave it to her, didn't she? Being so awestruck to the point of situational unawareness was something Shen Jiu never experienced in her entire miserable life, she was thankful the only exception to it was the harmless Yuan-mei — even if the prospect of there even being an exception made her feel an overwhelming fear.
Her view of the drawer was suddenly obscured by a face similar to hers in all but harshness, “Jiu-jiiie~! Did you hear what I said?”
The cute moue pulled her plump lips downwards as her cheeks puffed. With no response from the peak lord — the pout soon morphed into unease, Yuan-mei looked awkwardly anxious as she scratched near her eye, “Is something wrong? Have I been too friendly? This one shall correct herself for -” “This one would rather Yuan-mei be more comfortable than to limit herself from speaking her true tongue.” Shen Jiu immediately interrupted, “If Yuan-mei would like to serve her mistress, she'd know better than to not oblige her request.”
Yuan-mei stammered, she twiddled her hands together while her face burned brighter than fire, “T-This one- I.. I truly appreciate such an opportunity…” “Yuan-mei shouldn't fret, this one may be a master cultivator but she took the honours of being your Jiu-jie.” Shen Jiu declared, her voice in the same cadence as anything else.
Yuan-mei shrieked, “M-m-my Jiu-jie? oh lord, oh dianxia.. this is like skipping nine levels of confidant social link! Too soon.. too soon!”
Shen Jiu quivered an eyebrow at her, “What's the significance of ‘social link’? This.. Jiu-jie isn't familiar.”
The woman shook her head, “It's nothing! Don't worry about it, Jiu-jie!” she waved her hands around to dissuade her from even thinking on it.
“.. Alright, as Yuan-mei wished.” Shen Jiu placated. She will get it out of the courtesan someday, soon may it be or not.
Yuan-mei smiled — no, it was Shen Yuan who smiled. A smile of amusement and mirth and glee and so painfully candid.
She wore her heart on her sleeve, Shen Jiu couldn't help the chuckle that bubbled from her at the visible relief on how the cultivator easily dismissed her own curiosity. Shen Yuan was truly a beacon of beauty and elation, the peak lord couldn't help but be entranced every time she perceived a different aspect of her through her touch and olfaction..
Shen Jiu wished she could keep her in her own bamboo hut and shelter her from the disgusting leering men that strived to take her apart, who needed such profession when she was to take care of Shen Yuan and erase each trace of those lecherous pigs with her own touch?
“Might I ask about the book in A-Yuan’s belt?
The woman groaned, “I thought Jiu-jie wouldn't see it…!”
“The only way to hide such an ostensible size of a book would be through a qiankun pouch and not in such a visible spot.” Shen Jiu teased, delighting in the adorable sounds of pain from the courtesan
Shen Yuan huffed, “Well they do say that sometimes the best hiding place is hiding in plain.. but nothing could escape, Jiejie…" “This one wouldn't have made a mention of it if she didn't see A-Yuan doing her best to cover it with her sleeve.”
“Okay.. I was sort of obvious with it..” Shen Yuan sighed defeatedly, “But- if I show you, let me just make myself clear! I hate these books, I only read them to criticize their storyboard..”
“This Jiejie would never shame A-Yuan for her interests.”
“I don't like them! They're very terrible!” Shen Yuan hesitantly brought out a romance novel — the same novels the Xian Shu peak disciples would huddle over to read and fangirl over. Shen Jiu chuckled, her new companion was embarrassed for a non-yellow covered book?
“Hey-! You just said you won't shame me..” Shen Yuan pouted and immediately tried to leave the room in embarrassment — Shen Jiu grabbed her by the wrist, her grasp welded like steel to her skin, “this Jiejie wasn't shaming A-Yuan. Come sit, tell this one the plot of the book A-Yuan ‘hates’”
Shen Yuan looked flustered before she took a deep breath, Well... if Jiejie requested..." And so she began, she gesticulated with her hands and expressed herself with the most colourful choice of words known to mankind — Shen Jiu was hypnotized all the same, she asked at the right queues and goaded Shen Yuan to continue on with her rant until she ran her throat hoarse and emptied her chest. Shen Jiu didn't let go of her hand and smiled serenely in the face of Shen Yuan’s passion.
There was no going around it, Shen Jiu would be damned to let Shen Yuan scamper off after this.